Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I know people are making fun of me but honestly if I walked into a white friend's house and their living room had kente cloth wallpaper and tribal masks on it, I would find it strange. If their living room had tiki idol wall paper with their mid century modern decor, I would also do a double take. But that cabinet that pp posted wouldn't get a side eye from me. But it made me wonder if it should and if having furniture from other cultures is ok.

Why is African art “strange?” Seriously. I want to understand why you think this? Should a person have no art that isn’t from their own culture, or is it just African art that you think is offensive?

The elephant in the room here is that it would be seen as taboo in America where cancel culture is prevalent-especially so if you do anything that may offend ADOS Black people. That’s the biggest grey area where the line is fine. No one wants to walk it.

Obviously, by the pp’s statement, you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.

Anonymous wrote:Cultural appropriation is paying someone not in a culture who copied from a culture. It's a form of copyright violation.

What a daft thing to say. Chippendale chairs originated in England, does it mean every English person "owns" the right to Chippendale designs and people outside England can't use the designs?

There is no such thing as copyrights with culture because no one owns a culture. Culture doesn't belong to you. Culture is a manifestation of humanity.

Your argument is no different from those saying Americans was founded by English settlers so America really belongs to the Wasps and no one else.

Btw, what language are we all posting in?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if it’s an ottoman or an afghan.

Why an ottoman?

I believe they’re being funny. Ottoman Republic… get it?

I am Asian American, I love modern chinoiserie, to a point. But i agree with a pp that the geisha/paddy worker prints give me the ick. I think bc those were mostly in 20th century chinoiserie, and it was during a time of fetishization of Asians. To me, this stereotypical depictions contributed to the “othering” of Asians particularly Asian Americans. But broader patterns, such as cherry blossoms or peonies & dragons are commonly found in Asian homes, and appreciating those themes are appreciation, not appropriation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and I think this whole cultural appropriation thing has gone out of control. Celebrate each other's cultures!! Wear a cheongsam if it looks good on you. Put any wallpaper that you like. Decorate your house with ming vases. Belt out a K-pop song. It's OK. People should not be offended but pleased that others appreciate their culture.

Thank god because I look fine. As. Hell. In a cheongsam. Best garment ever made.

Only westerners think of the qipao / cheongsam as something that's supposed to be sexy. It was everyday wear in Republican China. Even today the Vietnamese wear a version of it. Girls ride bikes to school in their qipao / cheongsams. They wear it loose, like most Chinese people do. Because it's too damned hot to wear a tight fitting outfit most of the year in southern China.

Anonymous wrote:All over Asia and China people are wearing western clothes and using western furniture. Do you think they ever thought about cultural appropriation?

Good lord.

It's obvious Chairman Mao worried about it. He only went so far as to appropriate the Russian Communist look and gave all the citizen no choice but to wear that Mao outfit for decades. The country had been in a fashion vacuum for so long. I hypothesize that's the reason why still so many Mainlanders remain awkwardly turned out in western garb - clashing patterns (florals don't work with stripes), wearing baseball hats indoors (and no, a D&G branded hat doesn't make it OK), boots in summer, thigh highs in school, wearing white to other people's weddings... that sort of thing. Even the countriest bumpkin feels a need to put on a suit, a bad suit, because he doesn't really know what he's supposed to wear when he's not toiling in the field.

Anonymous wrote:Cultural appropriation is paying someone not in a culture who copied from a culture. It's a form of copyright violation.

Just stop

Anonymous wrote:I am Asian and I think this whole cultural appropriation thing has gone out of control. Celebrate each other's cultures!! Wear a cheongsam if it looks good on you. Put any wallpaper that you like. Decorate your house with ming vases. Belt out a K-pop song. It's OK. People should not be offended but pleased that others appreciate their culture.

+1 Indian-American here. I'm offended by Ganesh flip flops, absolutely because that's sacrilege, but not at all offended by your gorgeous dress that is inspired by silk saris or the kantha quilt you bought off Etsy for your bed.

Cultural appropriation is paying someone not in a culture who copied from a culture. It's a form of copyright violation.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I know people are making fun of me but honestly if I walked into a white friend's house and their living room had kente cloth wallpaper and tribal masks on it, I would find it strange. If their living room had tiki idol wall paper with their mid century modern decor, I would also do a double take. But that cabinet that pp posted wouldn't get a side eye from me. But it made me wonder if it should and if having furniture from other cultures is ok.

Why is African art “strange?” Seriously. I want to understand why you think this? Should a person have no art that isn’t from their own culture, or is it just African art that you think is offensive?

Anonymous wrote:My Swedish friend was insulted I had so much Ikea in my apt.

Long ago in days of yore it all began with a god named Thor. There are Vikings and boats and some plans for a furniture store.

Anonymous wrote:It's not cultural appropriation. However, some patterns are great, some are questionable.

Fabrics I wouldn't hesitate using:

https://www.pierrefrey.com/en/fabrics/L5042_DJIBOUTI_C541_C508_C512_FE-djibouti
https://www.jennifershorto.com/textiles/kongaline/

A fabric that makes me wonder how the brand hasn't gotten cancelled:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265662267547?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=265662267547&targetid=1528987488216&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9007531&poi=&campaignid=20387609897&mkgroupid=149368315897&rlsatarget=pla-1528987488216&abcId=9316960&merchantid=8288854&gclid=CjwKCAjw6p-oBhAYEiwAgg2PgsIyqmZ1r69sv3j8aSXewZyoKctpeHocDP-56lNoUy4-JlacMtd0DhoCTRgQAvD_BwE

I love the eBay fabric.

Anonymous wrote:My Swedish friend was insulted I had so much Ikea in my apt.

And IKEA Swedish meatballs in the freezer?

I saw a wall paper in a rental home that I thought was racist once. It's out there. But I've never seen anything for sale in the category of decor in modern stores that I thought was across a line. Now, heading to antique stores and there's all kinds of racist decor. But it's collected, often, by African American people, to remember where we came from.